Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

SEA FISHING

For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FRESHWATER, SALTWATER and TACK-TICS pages. The Saltwater page now extends back as a record of over several years of (mostly) sea fishing and may be a useful guide as to when to fish. The Freshwater stuff is also up to date now. I keep adding to both. These pages are effectively my diary and the latest will usually be about fishing in the previous day or two. As you see I also add the odd piece from my friends and correspondents if I've not been doing much. The Tactics pages which are chiefly 'how I do it' plus a bit of science are also updated regularly and (I think) worth a read (the earlier ones are mostly tackle and 'how to do it' stuff).

20 March 2006

Jeez it's cold!

I just had to go bassing. I knew that it was getting light round about five thirty so I set the alarm for five o'clock and raked myself out of bed. I also knew it wouldn't be warm so I put on a jumper, a fleece, a jacket and a waterproof hooded plastic coat. With my chest waders, a warm hat with ear flaps and a pair of mitten/gloves I thought that I would be fine. As soon as I got into the car and saw little flakes of snow whirling past the windscreen I was certain that I was right to 'dress for the weather'. I hadn't bothered to look at my tide tables so it was no great surprise to find that it was low tide when I arrived at the coast. This did not bother me too much although the growling waves whipped by a stiff north east wind were less auspicious.

It was not too bad tramping along the path to my chosen spot. In fact I soon warmed up to the point of sweating inside my coccoon of clothing and waterproofs. At the water's edge I found lots of loose kelp in the water but despite the waves there was only a little colour in the sea - just right for spinning - certainly I've caught bass in March before. The tide was beginning to flood so I was fairly optimistic as I began to cast my Maria plug. It is a shallow diving lure (one of several produced by Maria) that caught me lots of fish last year. The spool was loaded with some new Dynon 3000 braid which seems very similar in its characteristics to the Whiplash I have used for the last few years. I've taken to attaching my lures with a simple loop in the short nylon trace on the end of my braided line so there is no longer any need for clips or swivels, as a rig it could hardly be simpler and if I want to change lures I just cut the nylon and tie another loop - quick and easy.

The plug fished beautifully but although I only exposed the fingers of one hand it was just a couple of casts before the cold wind began to bite into my fingers. It's not just that I'm getting old and I don't mind fishing in wintery weather but this was really unpleasant. I tucked all my fingers except the casting (index) finger into my glove and that helped a bit. In fact I fished for about half-an-hour but there was no sign of a bite. I guess that I was a bit late getting down to the sea (I'll get up at four thirty next time) but it did not look as if there were any fish about and I could not blame them. With the tide flooding over the rocks and rockpools cooled by a night exposed to the Siberian wind it was probably not ideal to get the bass in feeding mood. Anyway - I caught nothing but even under those conditions it was good to be down at the coast and I can't wait for things to warm up a bit.

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you.'get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Just after first light.

Weed

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